Armstrong Whitworth

   Armstrong-Whitworth's Low Walker yard at Newcastle-on-Tyne, had six building slips from 650 to 450ft, the yard had previously been owned by Charles Mitchell & Co.


HMS Revenge (1915)
HMS Revenge was a Revenge class battleship built by Vickers-Armstrong, laid down on 22nd December 1913 under the name Renown, launched 29th May 1915 and commissioned on the 1st February 1916.
The Revenge-class battleships (listed as Royal Sovereign class in several editions of Jane's Fighting Ships, and sometimes also known as the "R" class) were five battleships of the Royal Navy, ordered as World War I loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914,1916. There were originally to have been eight of the class, but two were later redesigned, becoming the Renown-class battle cruisers, while the other, which was to have been named HMS Resistance, was cancelled.
HMS Revenge had a displacement of 29,150 tons standard, 33,500 tons full load. Length: 624 ft (190 m), Beam: 88.5 ft (27.0 m), Draught: 28.6 ft (8.7 m) Her propulsion was provided by Steam turbines, driving 4 shafts, fed by 24 boilers, giving 26,500 shp (20 MW) She had a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h) and range of 5,000 nmi (9,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h) Her Ships Complement was 997,1,150 officers and ratings. Armament consisted of 8 × 15 in /42 guns (381 mm), 14 × BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) Mk XII guns, 2 × QF 3-inch (76.20 mm) 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns, 4 × 47 mm guns and 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (submerged). Armour Belt was 13 in (330 mm) amidships; 4,6 in (102,152 mm) ends. Deck: up to 5 in (127 mm). Turrets: 13 in (330 mm) faces; 5 in (127 mm) sides; 5 in (127 mm) roof Barbettes: up to 10 in (254 mm) and citadel: 11 in (279 mm).
Revenge was in action at The Battle of Jutland under the command of Captain E. B. Kiddle. The day before the Grand Fleet departed their base to confront the surrendering German High Seas Fleet in Operation ZZ, a visit was made by senior members of the British Royal Family: King George V, Queen Mary and Edward, Prince of Wales. The King and his son visited USS New York, HMS Lion and Revenge. Queen Mary had tea in Revenge.
In 1919, at Scapa Flow, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter issued the order to the now interned German High Seas Fleet to scuttle the entire fleet of 74 ships to prevent their use by the victorious Allies. After the incident, von Reuter was brought to the quarterdeck of Revenge, flagship of Vice-Admiral Sydney Fremantle and accused of breaching naval honour. Von Reuter replied to the accusation, "I am convinced that any English naval officer, placed as I was, would have acted in the same way." No charges were brought against him.
In January 1920, the 1st Battle Squadron was detached to the Mediterranean due to crises in the region. While there, Revenge supported Greek forces and remained in the Black Sea, due to concerns about the Russian Civil War until July, when she returned to the British Atlantic Fleet. In 1922, Revenge, with her sister ships Ramillies, Resolution and Royal Sovereign, was again sent to the Mediterranean due to further tension in the area, in no small part due to the forced abdication of King Constantine I of Greece. Revenge was stationed at Constantinople and the Dardanelles throughout her deployment. She rejoined the Atlantic Fleet the following year.
In January 1928 she was paid off for refit at Devonport Dockyard; this included her 3-inch anti-aircraft guns being replaced by 4-inch guns and a control system was installed to direct them from a station on the foremast. Two of the 6-inch guns were removed from the foc’sle deck. She was recommissioned in March 1929 into the British Mediterranean Fleet. A further minor refit in May 1931 added two platforms for the new eight-barrelled 2-pounder pom-pom anti-aircraft guns, although only the starboard set of guns was actually fitted due to a shortage. On 16 July 1935, Revenge was part of the Naval Review of 160 warships at Spithead in celebration of George V's Silver Jubilee. Later that year she was stationed at Alexandria due to potential dangers posed by the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
In 1936 she was paid off for another refit. She was recommissioned a year later into the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. Early in 1939, her single 4-inch guns were replaced with four twin Mark XVI 4-inch guns and the fire control system was upgraded with a second system being added astern. She finally received the port multiple 2-pounder pom-pom and two four barrelled Vickers .50 machine guns were fitted on either side of the control tower. On 9 August 1939 she was part of another Fleet Review, that was observed by George VI. Revenge was now becoming rather antiquated and slow, but she was still used a great deal throughout the war, being assigned to the North Atlantic Escort Force, together with her sister-ship Resolution.
John Doran

26th June 1917 HMS Furious
HMS Furious
HMS Furious was a modified Courageous-class battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Lord John Fisher, the ship was very lightly armoured with only a few heavy guns. Furious was modified and became an aircraft carrier while under construction. Her forward turret was removed and a flight deck was added in its place, so that aircraft had to manoeuvre around the superstructure to land. Later in the war, the ship had her rear turret removed and a second flight deck installed aft of the superstructure, but this was less than satisfactory due to air turbulence. Furious was briefly laid up after the war before she was reconstructed with a full-length flight deck in the early 1920s.

Name: HMS Furious
Builder: Armstrong Whitworth, Low Walker Yard, Wallsend
Laid down: 8 June 1915
Launched: 15 August 1916
Commissioned: 26 June 1917
Reclassified: As aircraft carrier, September 1925
As completed, her complement numbered 737 officers and enlisted men.
Fate: Sold for scrap, 1948

Aircraft landing and the First World War
On 2 August 1917, while performing trials, Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning landed a Sopwith Pup, believed to have been N6453, successfully on board Furious. He became the first person to land an aircraft on a moving ship. On 7 August, he made one more successful landing in the same manner, but on his third attempt, in Pup N6452, the engine choked and the aircraft crashed off the starboard bow, killing him. The deck arrangement was unsatisfactory because aircraft had to manoeuvre around the superstructure in order to land. In the meantime, all three Courageous-class ships were assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron (CS) in October 1917. When the Admiralty received word of German ship movements on 16 October, possibly indicating a raid, Admiral Beatty, commander of the Grand Fleet, ordered most of his light cruisers and destroyers to sea in an effort to locate the enemy ships. Furious was detached from the 1st CS and ordered to sweep along the 56th parallel as far as 4° East and to return before dark. Her half-sisters Courageous and Glorious were not initially ordered to sea, but were sent to reinforce the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron patrolling the central part of the North Sea later that day. Two German Brummer-class light cruisers managed to slip through the gaps in the British patrols and destroyed the Scandinavia convoy during the morning of 17 October, but no word was received of the engagement until that afternoon. The 1st CS was ordered to attempt to intercept the German ships, but they proved to be faster than hoped and the British ships were unsuccessful. Furious returned to the dockyard in November to have the aft turret removed and replaced by another deck for landing, giving her both a launching and a recovery deck. Two lifts (elevators) serving the hangars were also installed. Furious was recommissioned on 15 March 1918 and her embarked aircraft were used on anti-Zeppelin patrols in the North Sea. In July 1918, she flew off seven Sopwith Camels which participated in the Tondern raid, attacking the Zeppelin sheds there with moderate success.
John Doran

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